Muang Chiang Mai(1)

Rajabhat University

The Rajabhat Universities (RTGS: Mahawitthayalai Ratchaphat) compose one of the university systems in Thailand.

They were formerly called Rajabhat Institutes and originally formed the teachers college system. In 2004, King Bhumibol Adulyadej collectively elevated them to be universities. Most provinces have one and they are generally easier to gain admission to than the "public universities" (formerly the government universities). Most Rajabhat Universities offer graduate degrees, some even to the doctoral level.

These institutions are equivalent to British polytechnics that have become universities. They face a similar challenge of matching the prestige of older institutions. They were conferred the royal word Rajabhat to possibly shield them from criticism and help raise their status.

The word "Rajabhat" is derived from the same origin as the Hindi, "Rajput" (from Sanskrit raja-putra, “son of a king”). In this sense, a "Rajabhat University" could be transliterated as something akin to "King's College", or "Royal Institute", etc. or perhaps, more literally as "Prince's University" (given that "Rajabhat" could be considered to mean "prince"). The most effective transliteration for simplicity, is arguably "Royal University", given that some "Rajabhat Universities" given the range of names connected to them.